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The latest word:

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This got me to wondering... if the Higgs particle (or is it a field?) is the "thing" that causes other particles to have mass, and whatever gravity is, there is no doubt that its strength as a force is proportional to the amount of mass present, then doesn't it seem likely that there has to be some relationship between how the Higgs particle causes mass and the force of gravity? Does the theory that led to the prediction of the Higgs particle's existence provide an explanation of the relationship between Higgs causing mass and the force of gravity? Will getting more experimental data on the characteristics of the new particle help in figuring out what the relationship is? What will the experimental data from the Large Hadron Collider tell us other than confirm the theory that predicted the Higgs boson?

Oh, and congratulations to your sister, cbelt3.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2012 10:00AM by Ted King.

I don't know - I get all my scientific facts from the Big Bang Theory



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2012 10:04AM by Forrest.

I think it's the first step to the creation of a disruptor beam.

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Be careful not to confuse inertial mass and gravitational mass. The Higgs particle is related to the former, connection to the latter is not included in the standard model.

There has been considerable interest in divining whether gravitational mass and inertial mass truly are equivalent. So far no has shown them to be different, but also no one has a comprehensive description of exactly why they should be equivalent.

Quote
vitus
Be careful not to confuse inertial mass and gravitational mass. The Higgs particle is related to the former, connection to the latter is not included in the standard model.

There has been considerable interest in divining whether gravitational mass and inertial mass truly are equivalent. So far no has shown them to be different, but also no one has a comprehensive description of exactly why they should be equivalent.

Oh yeah, thanks. I remember reading in the past about the difference but I had forgotten. The Standard Model deals only with inertial mass right? Actually, as your response helped me refine my Google searches on these issues, I can see that the questions I posed in the OP are way too simplified. Never-the-less, I'd still be interested in hearing from those of you with some background - what useful information can we get from the experimental data from the LHC other than just confirmation of the prediction of the Higgs boson from the Standard Model theory?

So far, what was found has been described as "Higgs-like", according to the NY Times article I read this morning. So some caution is being exercised.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/05/2012 03:53PM by ka jowct.